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Thread: Rubner Tuners for old Gibson A

  1. #1
    Registered User J.C. Bryant's Avatar
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    Default Rubner Tuners for old Gibson A

    Would any of you happen to know esactly which of the Rubner tuner will bolt right on an old Gibson (1914) Gibson A THANKS

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    Default Re: Rubner Tuners for old Gibson A

    The post spacing on teens Gibsons is 15/16", which is wider than the 29/32" spacing used on mandolins from circa 1925 through today.
    Tuners with the modern spacing will not operate well on a 1914.
    I suggest that you speak to Rubner directly to make sure they have something that will work.

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  4. #3
    Registered User J.C. Bryant's Avatar
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    Default Re: Rubner Tuners for old Gibson A

    rcc56, I was hoping you would respond. Thanks. Rubner wrote: "If the mandolin has the same roller spacing, then the sets will drop right in.
    The Rubners are 23 mm."
    I have measuted the old gibson and it looks to me to be more like 24mm. I measured center of post to center of post, and center of screw on the gear to center. That is the way to measure , right?

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    Moderator MikeEdgerton's Avatar
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    Default Re: Rubner Tuners for old Gibson A

    Post center to post center is the way you measure them. Your posts are actually 23.60mm post to post. StewMac makes a drop in replacement. They are here.
    "It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
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    Default Re: Rubner Tuners for old Gibson A

    The 23 mm. Rubners will definitely not work.
    The Stewmac Golden Age restoration tuners will. I have installed them on a few mandolins, and they drop right in. And in all cases so far, they have worked well.

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    Default Re: Rubner Tuners for old Gibson A

    Well the Rubners could work, but you would have to cut the plates to get the spacing correct. I did that in the days when tuners for old Gibsons did not exist.. I cut the plates at the screw holes, it made them into individual tuners and the spacing difference is so minimal that the screws still held the tuners on just fine, but it stretched the tuner plate enough to work well. I figured I would modify the new tuner and not the old mandolin. Just a thought if you like the quality of the Rubner tuners, which I do.
    THE WORLD IS A BETTER PLACE JUST FOR YOUR SMILE!

  9. #7
    Registered User J.C. Bryant's Avatar
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    Default Re: Rubner Tuners for old Gibson A

    Thank you all.

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    Default Re: Rubner Tuners for old Gibson A

    Don't Rubners have a boss on the plate that requires a countersink on the back of the headstock at the post hole? If you do not wish to modify your mandolin, these tuners are not what you want.
    too many strings

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  12. #9

    Default Re: Rubner Tuners for old Gibson A

    Better way to measure is across all four posts, and divide by 3. And, because posts do not remain accurately perpendicular to the plates, would trust screw-side measurements over post-side. Don’t be tempted to make a wrong tuner fit by enlarging the headstock holes - the holes are important bearing surfaces, and added clearance is bad. Also note that the mounting screws on a replacement may not be in the same positions, so mark out for what looks like the best positions of the posts, not the old screw holes, which can be left alone or filled.
    Next week, if work doesn’t interfere, I’ve got a slightly unusual tuner repair that I hope to document here, if I remember to take pictures.

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    Default Re: Rubner Tuners for old Gibson A

    I bought a set from my pumpkin top without checking the measurements. A very good luthier was able to install them and I like them a lot but he said it was extremely difficult.
    Steve

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    Mando-Accumulator Jim Garber's Avatar
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    Default Re: Rubner Tuners for old Gibson A

    I wrote to them for a similar problem and they told it would not work. Oh well…
    Jim

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    Default Re: Rubner Tuners for old Gibson A

    You'd have to do some enlarging or elongating of holes to make this work. It would probably be better to plug and re-drill them to get it right. The plates would cover the alligator dentistry on the back side and hopefully the bushings would be large enough to cover it on the front. Nobody should even remotely think it would be a drop in operation.
    "It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
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    Default Re: Rubner Tuners for old Gibson A

    I do not recommend plugging and re-drilling tuner shaft holes on old Gibsons.
    The wood and finish on the 100+ year old peghead veneer[s] is extremely brittle and does not respond well to the application of tools, no matter how careful you are. Even if you work from both sides and make up a precision drilling jig, the job is risky because the wood will tend to fall apart and the finish will tend to flake off.


    The best choice for these old-timers is to install the Stewmac tuners. They work well enough.
    If someone absolutely doesn't want to use them, they will have to either have a set custom made, or risk tearing up their mandolin.

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    Default Re: Rubner Tuners for old Gibson A

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    This is what I did decades ago when nothing else was available. It works just fine. I cut the plates with a jewelers saw, and it gives the added space needed to not bind the tuners. I chose to flip them and have them turn backwards as the holes lined up better, but you can see where one didn't, I drilled the plate instead of the mandolin. What do I care about altering a new set of tuners. as opposed to an old mandolin.
    THE WORLD IS A BETTER PLACE JUST FOR YOUR SMILE!

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    Default Re: Rubner Tuners for old Gibson A

    Quote Originally Posted by pops1 View Post
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    This is what I did decades ago when nothing else was available. It works just fine. I cut the plates with a jewelers saw, and it gives the added space needed to not bind the tuners. I chose to flip them and have them turn backwards as the holes lined up better, but you can see where one didn't, I drilled the plate instead of the mandolin. What do I care about altering a new set of tuners. as opposed to an old mandolin.
    Not only a good fix for that problem, but would work if one’s handmade treasure had irregularly-spaced original holes, headstock repairs, or wear.
    In current argot: not a bug, a feature!

  22. #16
    Registered User J.C. Bryant's Avatar
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    Default Re: Rubner Tuners for old Gibson A

    Just FYI to all, I he decided to go with the StewMac tuners but first, I think I will take the originals off and really go through them and see if that helps. They are VERY hard to turn when strings are under tension. Thanks to all.

  23. #17
    rock in rôle Paul Statman's Avatar
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    Thumbs up Re: Rubner Tuners for old Gibson A

    Quote Originally Posted by J.C. Bryant View Post
    Just FYI to all, I he decided to go with the StewMac tuners but first, I think I will take the originals off and really go through them and see if that helps. They are VERY hard to turn when strings are under tension. Thanks to all.
    Good call. That's what I did for my snakehead. I go two sets, one for another one I was doing for a friend, but then I reworked and reinstalled his original set, so now I have a spare! They drop right in, 'though I wish I'd kept the originals. In my ignorance, removed and lost them some 40 years ago!

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